


If We Go Down, Then We Go Down Together

by ShipperOfDreams



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, F/M, Fluff, I'll update tags as I go, Rey Needs A Hug, run away together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:07:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25172851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShipperOfDreams/pseuds/ShipperOfDreams
Summary: Rey and Ben are tired of living in a small town, and they are definitely tired of their abusive parents. So what does the average 18 year old do? Run away to Paris so they can follow their dreams and fall more in love then they already are. Obviously.
Relationships: Kylo Ren & Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Enjoy this modern AU (which was definitely inspired by the song Paris by the Chain smokers. It's a little angsty but it will have a happy ending. I'm not really sure where this is gonna go right now but I hope you'll join me on this journey!

Rey Johnson’s life kind of sucked. For a lot of reasons.

She had been in the Foster system since she was 4. She didn’t really remember her real parents, but she did remember the pain she felt whenever she watched them leave, and the hunger that kept her company when she was left alone for days on end.

She had managed to make a few friends during her time in foster care; Finn and Rose had always been there for her, even after she found a more permanent home.

When she was 15, Rey had been adopted by a man named Unkar Plot, who was an absolutely vile man. Sure, he looked disgusting enough, always walking around with stains of food, alcohol, and God knows what on his double XL t-shirts that he would wear for several weeks without changing, but his personality is what Rey found to be the most repulsive. Rey was sure that he had only taken her in to make her do work for him. Everyday when she got home from school, he would send her over to his auto shops, where she would spend several hours underneath cars, examining their engines. She didn’t really hate doing it, but she did hate the 2 miles she had to walk to get home. Plutt would usually drive her to the shop after school, but by 9:30, he would be passed out at home with a beer in front of the TV. So she walked home herself.

Then she’d still have to clean the whole house and find time to do her homework. Rey wanted to buy a car so she could finally leave, but between Plutt only paying her 4 dollars an hour (sometimes less) and having to buy her own food, there was no way she was able to afford a car, let alone her own place. 

Even if it wasn’t for Unkar, Rey would still want to leave this town. She lived in a small town in the midwest. It was the kind of town where teenagers would go to McDonalds and sit in their cars in empty parking lots for fun. Rey had only left once when she was on a class trip to look at a mining museum in the next town over, which wasn’t much bigger than the one she currently lived in.

But she had seen pictures of so many beautiful places in the world. When she was a kid, her favorite book was a World Encyclopedia, and she would spend hours flipping through it and looking at all the places she wanted to travel. She had always been drawn to big cities: New York City, Tokyo, Rio, Paris, and so many more. She dreamed of seeing them all. She just had to wait for the right moment. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself.

Sometimes her life was too overwhelming. On days when she had to pull all nighters to finish a project, and then go to work when it was especially busy, her dreams felt unachievable. Those were the nights when Rey would burst into tears and feel like giving up. Those were the nights she called Ben.

Ben really was her rock. Her only sense of stability in the shit show she called a life. Her other friends supported her too, but she knew they had their own issues to deal with.

Not that Ben didn’t, because he definitely did. His issues were mostly family issues too, and maybe that’s why Rey trusted him more than anyone else.

Ben and Rey started dating two years ago, when they were 16. One of their mutual friends, Poe, had set them up. They went out to dinner and Rey instantly felt this… connection. She still couldn’t really explain what this connection was. It was like a sense of belonging and understanding. This feeling that she wasn’t alone anymore. And he felt it too.

Rey still remembers the first time she called him after work. It was a really hard week for her. She had gotten about three hours of sleep in the past two days, she failed a math test, and Unkar had actually hit her. He only did that when he was really pissed, so it always shook her when he did. When Ben had found out, she had to beg him not to go start things, and had to remind him that Unkar didn’t know about them yet.

She stepped out of the shop, and already felt the tears rolling down her face. It was freezing outside too, and she really wasn’t sure if she could make the walk back.

So, in what Rey considered a moment of weakness (and what Ben would later assure her wasn’t weak) she called the only person she knew would help her feel better.

After a few rings, he picked up. “Hello?” Rey almost cried tears of relief after finally hearing his voice.

“Ben?” Her voice was shaky, and she knew he could hear it.

“Rey, what’s wrong? Are you ok?”

Rey gulped before responding, and she suddenly felt regret. “Yeah, I’m fine. I actually don’t really know why I called you, so just-”

“Are you just getting out of work?”

“Yeah, but nevermind, I’m sure you’re busy so I’ll just-”

“I’m on my way. Just stay where you are, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Ben’s voice always sounded so strong. It helped calm her. Although right now, it really wasn’t much help.

She spent the five minutes it took for Ben to arrive trying to hold her tears in. They had only been dating for a few months, so Rey really didn’t want to cry in front of him. She didn’t like crying in front of anybody.

But as soon as Rey got into his car, she didn’t really care. She broke down and started sobbing. She saw the look of confusion on Ben’s face before her sight was blurred by tears. But he was quick to wrap his arms around her, sheltering her from the rest of the world. In that moment, it was just them. Nothing else in that moment mattered. She told him about all of the stress in her life and how much she wanted to leave, and he listened quietly while gently stroking her hair.

It was that night that confirmed their connection for her. She knew that she was in love with Ben Solo.

And she was still in love with Ben Solo. She knew she always would be. Ben would always be in her life. And Ben affirmed this feeling every day. But of course, when there’s true love involved, the rest of the world will always try to stop it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey talk about life, and Rey has to face Unkar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Just a reminder that any constructive criticism on ways to improve my story is welcome!

Rey snuck into the library with her lunch, nodding at Mrs. Holdo as she went.

Usually students weren’t allowed to eat lunch in the library. This rule was put in place halfway through Rey’s sophomore year for an attempt at keeping some sort of cleanliness in the highschool. Before that, Rey had always eaten in the library so she could do homework. So when she started eating in the cafeteria, it was definitely more distracting. A few weeks after she started dating Ben, however, he let her in on his secret. He had managed to talk Mrs. Holdo, the librarian, into letting him eat there after several conversations about his favorite Jane Austen novels. Soon after that, Rey, who was also an avid reader, was allowed to eat there with Ben. They just had to stay hidden in a corner of the library that contained mostly old magazines. Rey would miss their little corner when they graduated in two weeks. 

When Rey snuck behind the shelves, she saw Ben’s smiling face, instantly causing her to break out into a grin. Ben was self-conscious of his smile, and Rey never understood it. Seeing his big, toothy grin was sometimes the highlight of her day.

And today was no different. She had been feeling exhausted until she saw him, but now she had a little bit more energy. Not a lot, because she had pulled an all nighter the night before, but she still felt better. “Hey,” he said quietly (it’s still a library after all) and held a hand out to her. She took it, and he gently pulled her down next to him. Ben planted a soft kiss on her forehead, one of his favorite ways to show affection. That’s another thing Rey loved about this corner of the library. They were so hidden, that nobody except them would catch these tender moments. 

“Lots of homework today?” Ben asked, wrapping one of his arms around Rey, pulling her close.

“Nope,” Rey replied as she smiled. “I’m all yours for the next half hour.”

“Good,” He said, pulling a Redbull and some sliced mango out of his bag. He brought the Redbull to help keep her awake throughout the day, and he had been bringing mango ever since she had mentioned how much she loved it but couldn’t afford it. Sometimes he would just give them to her at lunch, but sometimes when he felt she needed a little extra pick-me-up, he would leave it in her locker before school with love letters attached. “We need to talk about graduation.” He said. 

“Ok, I’m all ears.” Rey replied, opening her container of mangoes. 

“I mean, I guess not just about graduation, but like…” He trailed off, thinking for the right words. “I think we need a plan for what happens after.” 

“Yeah…” Rey knew both of them were in difficult situations when it came to what happened after highschool. Ben’s parents had been pushing him to go to law school. They were rich and could probably get him into any school in the country. But Ben didn’t want to go to college, let alone law school. Ben wanted to play music. He had released some songs that had actually done pretty well and even gotten him some fans. But his parents didn’t think that was a stable career for him. They started off by dropping subtle clues, pamphlets about why getting a law degree was good, telling stories about kids they knew who went down a bad path when they tried to enter the music industry, etc. But eventually they began threatening to cut him off from all of the money that they had been giving him. Ben’s parents were rich, both big name lawyers who had made millions in Boston before retiring to this small town. But she knew Ben, and not even losing his inheritance was going to stop him from playing music.

And Rey… well, Rey had no idea what the fuck she was going to do. She wanted to study literature and maybe something involving the arts, but she hadn’t even talked to Unkar about it. She was running out of time, something that she was well aware of, but last time she mentioned going off to college he hit her across the face with a beer bottle. That was not an experience she was eager to relive.

Ben interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back into the conversation. “Just so you know baby, that I’ll go with you wherever you go, if that’s something you want. As long as I’m with you, I don’t care what happens after graduation.”

Baby. Rey loved it when Ben called her baby. She used to mock other couples who used that term of endearment, especially when Finn and Poe did it (she mocked them in a friendly way, just enough to make them blush). But something about Ben calling her baby made her melt.

“Of course I want you with me,” Rey said, taking his hand in hers. “But I’ll be honest, I don’t really have a plan. I haven’t even talked to Unkar about it.”

“If this is about what happened last time you talked to him, I can be there when you want to have that conversation with him.”

Rey really did want him to be there, but if he was, Unkar would make sure she never saw him again. When Rey first moved in, that was one of the first things he told her: no boys until she moved out. Rey definitely did not want to discover what would happen if Unkar found out. 

“No, it’s ok. I’ll talk to him about it tonight. Have your parents given up on law school yet?”

He laughed, biting into his sandwich. “I wish. I really don’t think they’ll ever let it go. So I guess that was my next question. I think I have enough money saved up from my music to get an apartment, so when you go off to college, do you want to move in with me?”

Rey tightened her grip on his hand, smiled and said, “Of course I do. Living with you sounds so much better than living in a dorm with a roommate I hardly know.”

Ben smiled the biggest smile she’d seen in a while. He did his best not to show it, but Rey could tell that his parents’ constant stress on him was really taking a toll. He smiled less, he was more forgetful, and he was constantly tired. It’s like they were made for eachother in that regard, always walking around with bags under their eyes with some source of caffeine in hand.

Rey rested her head on his shoulder, cuddling up against him. Ben rested his head on top of hers. The mood between them became somber. They both knew the daunting task they had at hand. What would happen if Ben’s parents succeeded in getting him to go to law school? What would happen if Unkar wouldn’t let her go to college and she had to stay here for the rest of her life? What would happen if they were separated? This moment, with just her and Ben in the dead quiet felt like a desperate cling to the life they had now. They stayed quiet for a while, feeling that if they were to continue their conversation, they would have to face the reality that change was coming.

But Ben eventually broke the silence. “I really think my parents are going to cut me off. I have enough saved up for an apartment, but not a nice one. If you’d rather live in the dorms, I totally get it-”

Rey didn’t want him to finish that sentence, so she moved her lips to his, cutting him off with a kiss. After a few seconds, they broke apart. Rey gazed into his deep, brown eyes and said “I’d live on the streets if it meant I get to live with you.”

Ben brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. And he said the only thing that came to his mind at that moment: “I love you.” 

Rey rested her forehead against his. “I love you too. So much.”

Ben moved to kiss her again, but the moment was ruined by the sound of the school bell. Lunch was over. Ben smiled at Rey, a smile that only she could tell was forced, and said “Great, because of you, I didn’t get to eat.” Rey forced a smile as well, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before saying, “Sorry, babe. But you still better walk me to class.”

He stood up, grabbing Rey’s hand, and replied “Of course, sweetheart.” They began walking into the crowded halls, holding hands, both trying to savor the memory of the kiss, but push aside the knowledge of the task ahead.

__________________________________  
***  
Today was one of the rare days that Rey got to go home before work. Of course, that meant she had to walk home, but it wasn’t too far. The only part of this walk she hated was how heavy her backpack was. As she walked home, she thought about her conversation with Ben. She really did mean that she would rather not have a home then live without him. He was her home. The only place she felt safe was with him. She just had to figure out how to get out of this town. There was no way she was able to afford college tuition on her own, and convincing Unkar to let her go would be… difficult. Rey didn’t even consider herself to be an employee, since she was paid half of minimum wage and got no real benefits. 

When Rey got home, she grabbed the mail and started to head inside. She saw a couple of the letters were letters from colleges. Hopefully they were acceptance letters, so she stuffed them into her backpack before she went inside. 

Unkar was perched in his usual place, which was sprawled across the couch watching whatever football game or golf match was on cable. Rey usually tried to avoid contact with him, and he usually ignored her anyways. But today, she had to talk to him.

She took a deep breath before entering the living room. “Hey, Unkar.” Rey began.

Unkar was quick to brush her off. “I told you this morning, I’ll take you to work at 4:30.” He dismissed her with the wave of a hand. 

“Actually, um… there was something I wanted to talk to you about.” Rey stayed standing to the side of the couch, waiting for a response. He darted his eyes to hers and then back to the screen, so she took this as an opportunity to state her case.

“I was just thinking about college and-”

“Why are you thinking about that? I’ve already told you. You’re not going.”

“Well, I mean, with college, I can earn more money with whatever job I get, and I can pay you back for everything you’ve done for me.” 

If I was going to do that, I wouldn’t have to pay a cent. Rey thought to herself.

Unkar said nothing, but slowly rose from the couch. Rey felt her heartbeat speed up, thinking back to Ben’s offer to be here with her. Maybe she should have taken him up on that. Unkar lumbered over to where she was standing, and lowered himself to be on eye level with her. He was close. Too close.

“Listen here, girl. If you are so concerned with paying me back, you can start working for free at the shop. That should just barely cover it.” 

“What?” Rey’s voice was quiet. She’d messed up. “I can’t work for free! I need some kind of an income!”

“Then you can pick up a second job after graduation.” He sat back down on the couch, moving his eyes back to the TV. “Oh, and you’re walking to the shop today.”

Rey looked at the time on her phone. She had to leave now if she wanted to make it on time. As soon as she left the house, she felt tears in her eyes. Now she was never going to get out of this town. Unkar would never let her leave.

She needed to talk to someone about this, so she took out her phone and called Ben. No answer. She called again. Nothing. 

It’s ok, she assured herself, taking a few deep breaths. He’ll call me when I’m done at work.

But in the back of her mind, she felt something was off. Ben rarely missed a call from her. She was sure he’d call her back by the time she made it to work. But half an hour later, she still had heard nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on twitter: @JakkuFlowers


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Hope you enjoy the new chapter! I'll be updating every Saturday from now on.

Rey walked down the hallways at school the next day, pretending to listen to the ramblings of Finn and Rose. She really did try to tune in to their conversation, which was something about Poe and graduation. It was hard for Rey to concentrate on anything this morning when all of her thoughts strayed to Ben.

Ben never ignored her calls like that. She really needed him last night. She just found out that she wasn’t going to college, she was getting paid half of what she normally was, and she’d probably stay in this stupid town until she dies, and Ben chose now to disappear off the face of the planet?

But more importantly, what if something happened to him? What if he got hurt or was in some kind of trouble? What if-

“Hey, Peanut. You ok?” Finn interrupted her train of thought. 

“Yeah. I’m fine. Sorry, I’m just tired I guess.” Rey responded. Rose and Finn shared a quick glance, and then looked back at Rey. They didn’t buy her story. 

“Rey, something’s obviously wrong,” Rose said, “You’re over there, staring into space with that look on your face.”

“What look?”

“Oh, Peanut, if you furrow your brows any longer, you’ll get worry lines.” Finn said. Rey’s hand automatically went to her forehead, making a desperate attempt to rub out any lines that might be forming.

“You know you can tell us anything, right?” Finn continued. “So tell us what’s up.”

“I’m just… there’s a lot going on. With Unkar and graduation, and now with Ben-”

“Hold up, what’s going on with Ben? You guys aren’t breaking up, are you?” Rose asked. 

“What? No, Rose, we aren’t breaking up. I just haven’t heard from him in a while. I’m worried something might have happened to him.”

“Well, why don’t you go ask him?” Rose said, pointing down the hallway where Ben’s tall, shaggy-haired figure stood by her locker. Wait, shaggy hair? Ben always kept his hair in perfect form, combing it to perfection every morning. Something was wrong.

Rey approached him, trying to keep cool and not show her worry, but that became more and more difficult as she noticed more that wasn’t right.

He was still wearing the same outfit he was yesterday; a black hoodie and grey sweatpants. He looked like he hadn’t slept a wink and had bags under his eyes. Had he been crying? She couldn’t tell for sure, but his eyes definitely looked red.

“Ben, what’s wrong? Are you ok?” Rey asked, now close enough to his tear-stained face enough to confirm her suspicions. “Hey, it’s ok.” she practically whispered to him as she took his hand in her own. Ben stared at where their hands met, and without raising his eyes said “I know you called me last night. I’m sorry I couldn’t-” his voice cracked, and decided not to finish his sentence.

“It’s ok, Ben. I don’t care about that right now. I just want you to tell me what’s going on.”

Ben’s eyes finally met Rey’s, and she could have sworn she saw tears well up in them. “Let’s go for a drive.” 

Usually, Rey wouldn’t have gone along with it because they had class in five minutes, but she figured the circumstances were a bit different today. “Ok.” 

They were quiet on the walk to Ben’s car. He still held her hand, as if it was an anchor keeping him in place. Rey kept her eyes in front of them, looking for his BMW in the parking lot, but she would occasionally steal glance up at Ben. His face was a blank slate. He showed no emotion. She knew this state of his all too well. He was trying to hold all of his emotions inside until he could let them all out at once. 

They finally reached his car, Rey expected him to break down. But he didn’t. He stayed silent and put the car in drive. Rey waited for him to say something. He didn’t.

They had been driving for 5 minutes when Rey decided to push him. “Ben. Please talk to me.” She kept her voice lower and gentle, like she was talking to a baby that was finally drifting off to sleep. Ben drove the car to the side of the road and parked. 

Ben turned to face Rey, stared at her for a second, and then started talking.

“Rey, I got into another fight with my parents last night. But it was… different this time. I think they realize that they are running out of time to convince me to go to Law School. So they’ve decided to force me to do it.”

“How are they going to force you? They can’t really do that, can they?” Somehow, Rey knew where this was going. She had met Ben’s parents before, and while they had always been fairly nice to her, she knew how strict they could be when it came to getting their way.

“They’re trying to. So last night, they took my phone, which is why I couldn’t call you last night, and they aren’t letting me go anywhere except school.”

“Ben, that doesn’t sound too bad. If you just wait them out, they’ll stop eventually.”

“That’s not all. Not only did they take all of my music stuff, my guitar, keyboard, even my computer, but they’ve given me an ultimatum.”

“What is it?”

Ben took a sharp breath in before continuing. “They say I either give up music, or I have to stop seeing you.”

“What? Why would they do that?”

“Because they know I’ll pick you.”

Rey felt herself begin to tremble. She had this feeling of dread in her stomach. “You can’t do that, Ben. You can’t let me stand in the way of your future.”

Ben took Rey’s hand and brought his forehead to rest against hers. Then he whispered, “You are my future.” Rey let herself stay there for a minute, breathing him in.

“Ben, you can’t just give up music.”

That’s when Ben broke. Tears began rolling down his face, and he buried his face into Rey’s neck as he sobbed. “I’ve been fighting this for so long, Rey,” he said in between sobs. “I’ve tried to get them to understand. But now I’m about to lose everything. I just don’t know what to do anymore.” Rey pulled him into a tight hug, allowing one of her hands to comb through his hair. She stayed quiet for a while, letting him cry.

Eventually Rey drew herself back so she could look him in the eyes. “So, what are we gonna do?” 

Ben wiped his eyes on his sleeves. “W-what?”

She brought her hand up to caress his face, tracing circles on his cheek with her thumb. “We aren’t just going to sit back and let all of this happen to you. So what are we gonna do about it?”

For the first time since Ben began crying, his eyes met hers. “Run away with me, Rey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Twitter: @JakkuFlowers

**Author's Note:**

> Also follow me on twitter @JakkuFlowers for updates :)


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